Talking to: author of 'A Working Class State of Mind', Colin Burnett

Being likened to the new Trainspotting, Colin Burnett has set out to call attention towards what being working-class is nowadays in the thought-provoking, humorous debut novel 'A Working Class State of Mind'.

Hailing from Leith, Edinburgh, Colin Burnett is an emerging voice for the working class as he touches on issues that some people would shy from. Writing from experience and knowledge, Burnett has adapted this into colourful characters and thought-out storylines.

Burnett's debut novel, A Working Class State of Mind explores Aldo's, and his friends Dougie and Craig, experiences in being working class in Scotland today. The book follows their experiences in a city that is divided by class restrictions. Facing problems in their economic conditions and sharp identities, Aldo and his friends live their lives in a heroic fashion due to their immense hardships.

Entitled was lucky enough to have a chat with Burnett about his striking novel, the stigma around being working class and the importance of showcasing Scots.

Is there any reason in particular that you wanted to be an author?

BURNETT: Well, to be honest, it was more my brother who got me into it, he’s a playwright. He is more like me writing about the working class, what the working class is like in Edinburgh. So, to see my brother become a writer, that is what inspired me. But, in University my dissertation was on Scottish working-class playwrights and novelists in Scotland today. So, when I was reading their works, I analysed it from a sociological point of view, and it got me interested in writing my own stories. So, once I finished up in University, I started writing short stories and I would put them on twitter. I started to get a great reaction from them. So, I kept writing and eventually that is what brought together the book and the stories, the ones that were posted on social media. So, it was my brother and studying other writers that got me into writing.

With doing a degree in Sociology, do you think that impacted your writing?

BURNETT: Yeah definitely, I think that when you look at my story and the social commentary throughout the book, and I think it reflects the ideas of Karl Marx. I enjoy learning about their sorts of thoughts and ideas on how society functions. And it made a lot of sense to me, being working class and knowing about working class culture, being oppressed. Even things like language, we speak in Scots and even in some parts of the country, it is quite tainted. I think that is because of the associated with the working class. So, I think that yeah, I would say that the sociological aspect definitely impacted on like, the book, a working-class state of mind. (Image: Leamington Books)

As you said, you wrote the novel in Scots, was that always something that you wanted to do?

BURNETT: Yeah, definitely, definitely, you have to remain true to the characters. I think about writing it in English and no, because all of the people I know speak in Scots. Even if some of them don’t see it as a language themselves. They can see it as slang or something like that, but for me it has always been a language. Like I said before, my brother, he has always written in Scots. So, I started to learn how to write in Scots from my brother. With like Trainspotting, seeing people writing in Scots, and it is actually something people will read. It gave me the encouragement to write in Scots myself. There is something about the Scots language, it makes the characters. I could not see Aldo’s dialogue coming off as well if it was written in English. It brings them together, it is a part of their identity, our identity. I think it also gives exposure to the language too.

There is something about the Scots language, it makes the characters. I could not see Aldo’s dialogue coming off as well if it was written in English. It brings them together, it is a part of their identity, our identity.

(Image of Begbie from Trainspotting, played by Robert Carlyle. Image Credits- Bosshunting)

Do you think Trainspotting was a reason for people picking up on Scots?

BURNETT: People liken and compare A Working Class State of Mind to Trainspotting, and I think because Trainspotting has set the benchmark for modern day Scots literature. It was popular all over the world. People who had not read the book, had seen the movie, so it was really popular. I think Trainspotting lit the match and hopefully it will just carry on. I think it has been a major influence to how people sort of take to Scots.

People liken and compare A Working Class State of Mind to Trainspotting, and I think because Trainspotting has set the benchmark for modern day Scots literature.

What do you think it means to be working class in Scotland today? Do you have your own idea? Or do you think it's like a spectrum almost?

BURNETT: To me, I think it is to do with your experiences. Your experiences obviously reflect on the sort of person you will become. So, I think that the stories I have chosen to tell, even though may not be about me, are influenced by these characters or something I have came across with. It is difficult because a lot of people who are working class struggle to identity with the fact, they are working class because they can go on holiday once a year, they have a car. This is because this was always associated with the middle classes. However, working class people are oppressed and I do not think that has ever changed over time. I just think it has been sort of masked a bit better. People struggled to identity as working-class because they can afford certain things, but they are not living the millionaire’s lifestyle. I think it sort of blurs the idea of working class and middle class.

Do you think Scotland has their own working class, or do you think it is universal?

BURNETT: Even though my stories are set in Leith, Edinburgh, I think they are universal. A woman from Louisiana messaged me about a part of my novel, and she told me that this easily could have been set in her school in Louisiana. She was in America, and my book is set in Scotland. So, I think that the working-class experience is a universal one because we all have the same experiences. The essence is the same. I also think this country (Scotland) is more set on independence than the previous generations. So, in a sense, I think young working-class people have lost their sense of Britishness. So, I think Scotland is a wee bit more unique in some ways.

I tried to treat every chapter as an episode in a chain of working-class experiences in Scotland.

Was there any things associated with being working class that you wanted to highlight in your novel?

BURNETT: Well, in every chapter we shatter a different facet of the working-class culture. For example, there is a chapter about the Welfare State and the stigma surrounding it. Like, the betting industry, I think that is such a unspoken, harsh reality in the working-class experience. People think that these people go to the bookies to bet and that’s it. But what I tried to show in the book was that people go there with a purpose, because for a lot of people that is how they make their extra money, legally. As well as football, because I think football is important to the working-class culture. I tried to treat every chapter as an episode in a chain of working-class experiences in Scotland.

One last question, do you have any novels in the works?

BURNETT: Yes, I’m currently writing a sequel to A Working Class State of Mind. I want to focus on the characters and how they evolve in A Working Class State of Mind. I’ve actually started writing the first chapters. Should be done by the end of this year hopefully. So, yeah, that is my next plan.

Burnett is becoming a voice in Scotland, bringing everyday realities to the surface and reiterating what it means to be working class in Scotland today. A Working Class State of Mind is well-worth the read, and an important one at that.

You can find a copy of A Working Class State of Mind on Amazon.